Atlanta Authors presents Carolyn Curry

A tapestry of the lives of three women who endure horrific loss in 19th-century Georgia, but in the end, triumph and find commitment, friendship, and love.

Trudy’s Awakening is a historical novel set in the latter half of nineteenth-century Georgia that tells the story of three women whose lives were intermingled as they worked to overcome society’s barriers to their progress and success. Gertrude Thomas, “Trudy” to her friends and family, grew up in wealth and privilege but lost it all in the aftermath of the war. Amanda “Mae,” along with her mother Lurany, were enslaved to Gertrude’s family and yearned for freedom. Lizzie Jeter was a middle-class young woman who dreamed of being a professional artist.All three faced tremendous obstacles in a world that wished to limit and suppress their talents.

“In a society and era when women were afforded no voice, Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas found hers and, in the fullness of time, raised it in support of other women. Dr. Carolyn Curry’s inspiring and highly readable novel tells the little-known story of ordinary Southern women who endure tragedy, turmoil and loss, yet find strength and courage to carve out new lives for themselves in a fast-changing world.”

Marie Bostwick, bestselling author of "The Book Club for Troublesome Women"

Carolyn Curry is an award-winning author, historian, and founder of the non-profit Women Alone Together® which she directed for 22 years. She holds a BA from Agnes Scott College and a MA and PhD from Georgia State University. In 2014, she published Suffer and Grow Strong: The Life of Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas 1834-1907. In 2015, it was selected One of the Books all Georgians should read by the Georgia Center for the Book. In that same year, Curry received Georgia Author of the Year from the Georgia Writers Association.

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